The Lion, the Shadow, and the Mallow
by Snowflower of ThunderClan
Summary: Mallowkit is born with purple eyes something that is not normal to the clans. Her emotions begin to clash together as she struggles being accepted into the clan, especially since her parents were medicine cats. But when a new cat comes to stay with the clan will he help her control her untamed emotions, or will she turn on the clan she calls home? Sequel to Frozen Hearts. Rated T
1. Prologue

***Drum roll plays* Ladies and gentle-cats I give you the sequel to "Frozen Hearts" This is probably my first fanfic that is in first person so forgive me if it's terrible. Now enter the world of Shadow!**

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I opened my eyes and spotted the pink fur-less creatures staring at me in awe. I rolled my eyes and looked myself over.

My pelt was still midnight black, my paws were still white and I looked into the reflection my container held.

My yellow piercing eyes stared back at me and I let out a sigh.

The fur-less creatures began tapping on the glass, the sound penetrating my ear fur.

I felt my fur rise and I bared my fangs, feeling the muscles in my back contrast as I heard a rustle. Yup, they were still there. The monstrosities that kept me locked up. My wings smashed into the glass, making the no-claws jump back.

I scoffed and folded them back to their resting position.

I was different, when I showed my housefolk my wings they made a surprised noise, and grabbed me quickly and threw me into a mesh web and here I am, locked away while the no-claws study me.

I saw one of them put on things over it's pink hands as they opened the cage.

I unsheathed my claws and batted my paws at them, snagging the fabric that was on the hand that caught me.

I hissed and thrashed around, my wings spreading as they placed me on a shiny silver platform. It was ice cold to the touch and I stood up, my wings quivering from its icy kiss.

I rolled m eyes as they began to talk about me, the same words always came up, mutation, odd, you name it.

I was a freak of nature.

I scanned the room and noticed something unusual, there was a breeze ruffling the feathers of my wings.

A purr erupted from my throat and I spotted an open window.

Today was the day!

I would finally be free from this wretched place!

I opened my wings to their full mass and heard the no-claws make a sound of awe.

I flapped my darker than black wings once, then twice, and again and again until I was flying.

All my late night practicing had finally paid off!

I silently sent a pray to my old teacher, Rainbow. and began to glide through the air.

I was flying!

I was actually flying.

I heard the pink fur-less animals screech in surprise as I flew towards the open window.

Once I was outside I squinted my eyes in the harsh sunlight and began to soar over the town, heading towards a place I could hopefully call home.

Rainbow had told me all about them. The cats that lived there, oh what did she call them? The Clans?

I spotted the forest she told me to go to and I began to dive, aware of the speed I was going at.

I turned my wings and shot backwards, slowing down until I made my descent. I

touched the ground gingerly and felt the soft soil underneath my pads and a relished the feeling. It was definitely better than the container the no-claws kept me in.

I heard a twig snap and my wings quickly snapped into place at my sides.

"Who's there?!" I growled, hackles raising in defense.

A dark brown tom stepped into view and he was with two other cats.

"What are you doing in RiverClan territory?" the tom hissed.

I scented the cat, not moving a muscle and scrunched up my nose. "I hope your name isn't something fishy" I joked halfheartedly and looked to my paws as the three cats glared at me.

"Again I ask what are you doing on RiverClan territory?" the tom asked arrogantly.

I rolled my eyes and mockingly bowed to the tom. "I just got here actually, looking for a home, hopefully in, what was it? StreamClan?" I asked, trying to be genuine, not liking the scents I smelled from them.

"C'mon Otterfur, he's obviously a loner. Just tell him to leave" the youngest looking tom meowed quietly.

"Are you the deputy Stonepaw? Yeah I didn't think so" the one called Otterfur growled.

The light grey tom shrunk back and the third cat draped her tail over Stonepaw's shoulder.

"Leave now and we won't tear you to shreds!" Otterfur snarled, unsheathing his claws.

I backed up and turned around, wanting to leave their presence immediately.

I sighed as I leaped across the river that coursed through the land, opening my wings slightly to glide to land.

As I landed I scented something different. The forest smelt... pure.

I liked it!

I began to pad through the forest, swiftly dodging the twigs that littered the ground.

I scented a mouse and my mouth began to water. It had been ages since I had a mouse.

I got into a sloppy hunters crouch and began to sneak towards the mouse.

Light brown fur came into my sight and I stopped, to study the small creature before me. It was eating seeds that were scattered on the forest floor.

I waggled my rear and leaped into action, catching the mouse with my claws.

It shrieked loudly before I had the chance to kill it.

Once the small mouse was dead I began to dig into it, savoring the flavors that flooded into my mouth.

Before I could finish the mouse I was attacked but a sudden flash of gold.

"Sunpaw I said to ask the tom, not attack him" an exasperated voice called out.

I turned and spotted a pretty light grey she-cat with a darker stripe running down her body.

I pushed the golden tom off of me and glared at him, licking my muzzle clean of my meal.

"Sorry Greycloud, I just saw him eating our prey and I couldn't help it... I got angry." The tom retorted, glaring icily at the she-cat.

Before Greycloud could respond I cleared my throat and stared at Sunpaw. "You shouldn't talk to her like that. If you look more closely at this lovely she-cat she has bags under her eyes which means she probably is working very hard or has kittens" I meowed accusingly to the golden tom.

Greycloud gaped her jaws at me and I sat down, licking my white paw and swiping it across my face.

"Hey I know this is a bit unexpected, but why don't you come with me and I'll ask our clan leader if you can join ThunderClan. We need more toms with sense like yours" the grey she-cat meowed happily.

"Great another outsider just like Mallowkit" the golden tom growled.

Greycloud swatted his head and glared at him. "Don't speak like that of that precious kit!" she hissed, her fur bristling.

"Sorry Greycloud" Sunpaw meowed, ashamed of his words.

"Now hurry we have to tell Leafstar of your passing the assessment before the kits are made apprentices" Greycloud mewed happily trotting through the forest.

Sunpaw signaled me to follow him and I did. I looked around, studying the forest.

I felt my wings stir on my sides and I willed them to stay down.

What I would give to soar among these tree.

Before I knew it we were at the "camp"

I winced slightly as the brambles tugged at my hidden wings and I stiffened as all gazes turned to me.

A snowy white she-cat who was buried by several kits was instantly on her paws and she trotted over to us.

"Greycloud who is this?" the queen asked, looking into my yellow eyes, shifting her gaze away from my intense gaze.

"I met him in the sandy hollow and well he spoke highly of the clans." Greycloud fibbed, her right ear swiveling backwards.

The snowy white queen studied her and she turned and began to head towards a den that was covered by lichen.

"Uh... Who was that?" I asked softly, staring after the beautiful queen.

"That was my sister Snowflower. She's the deputy which is second in command of our leader, Leafstar" Greycloud explained.

I nodded and watched as a tortoiseshell and white she-cat poked her head out, her leaf green eyes finding mine. She met Snowflower halfway and the two she-cats began to walk towards him.

"So Snowflower tells me you wanted to join us?" the older she-cat meowed, her eyes shining with wisdom.

"Um... Yes if you'll have me. I- I just escaped some horrible no-claws... And I wanted to find a new home" I admitted.

"No-claws? What are no-claws mama?" a kitten mewed, appearing underneath the snowy white queen.

"I think he means twolegs Rosekit, no go play with Vixenkit" Snowflower purred softly.

Rosekit huffed with annoyance and glared towards a russet colored kit who resembled a fox.

"All Vixenkit plays is mooning over stupid Lionkit" Rosekit hissed.

I glanced to where the russet colored she-kit was staring and noticed a small golden tom, with a mane like a lion as he wrestled with another tom.

"Hey little kitten how about if your leader accepts me into the clan we can play with a moss ball" I meowed quickly.

The pale ginger kitten's big blue eyes lit up and she nodded enthusiastically. "I can invite Mallowkit to play too if she's not too busy!" Rosekit squeaked as she dashed off towards an opening, disappearing into it.

"What's your name?" Leafstar asked me.

I scrunched my face up, trying to remember what my housefolk named me._ Shadey? Shard? Shade? Gah those are stupid names! Oh wait I know! _

I cleared my throat and looked up to the leader of these cats. "My name is Shadow" I murmured, looking towards where the kitten had disappeared and saw a pair of purple eyes staring at me.

"So Shadow would you like to join ThunderClan?" Leafstar asked me. I looked up to her in shock and I kneaded my claws into the ground.

_Do I really want to join them? _I thought to myself, looking to where the purple eyes were again as they blinked and disappeared.

"Yes. I do want to join ThunderClan" I meowed loudly, trying to blend my wings in with my pelt.


	2. Chapter 1: Mallow

**YES! I finally updated! Little miss Snowflower got injured yesterday morning and I cant move my knee :D So I have time to update stories. This chapter is in Mallowkit's POV. Next will be Shadow, then Lionkit, then Mallow again. Might be an occasional Moonkit or Pebblekit. Depends on the situation. But Read and review please!**

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I sniffed disdainfully as I glared at a black tom. He was playing with Rosekit just like he promised her he would.

I scoffed, catching his attention I stuck my nose into the air and stalked past him towards the two wrestling toms.

"Lionkit, Talonkit, who do you think our mentors will be?" she asked, forgetting about the black tom.

Lionkit was instantly off his brother and smiled to her. "I don't know, but I would hope you got someone good like Leafstar or Snowflower." Lionkit meowed kindly, pushing away his brother as he tried to attack him once again.

"Talonkit cut it out! Mother says we're going to be apprentices soon." Lionkit growled at Talonkit.

Talonkit rolled his eyes and looked towards the elders den. "You think Flamedapple has a story to tell?" Talonkit asked. I watched as Lionkit's eyes lit up with excitement and he and Talonkit ran off towards the elders den.

I saw my mother pad out of the medicine cat den and she looked towards me.

I could tell she looked stressed. "Mother!" I called out, trotting towards her.

My mother's ears perked up and she turned towards me. "What's the matter Mama?" I asked. Blueleaf let out a sigh and me.

"I'm just worried is all. With Flamedapple's sudden paralysis and being the only medicine cat gets pretty stressful" Blueleaf muttered, almost as if she were regretting something,

"Mama do you regret becoming a medicine car?" I asked softly, looking up into her pretty blue eyes.

Blueleaf stared at me in shock and shook her head quickly. "I just wish I would've had you three a lot sooner, More lives would've been saved" Blueleaf began.

I began to get comfortable as she was about to tell me a story when I felt something barrel me over,

"E-Excuse me!" a deep meow cut through the air. "I think one of your kits wants to ask you a question." the voice continued.

I looked up and spotted the black tom they called Shadow.

I began to get to my paws when I felt something underneath me help me up. It felt soft and a bit fluffy and it slid out from underneath me.

I looked to Shadow who looked utterly petrified as he looked around camp. "Don't worry nobody saw you help me up" I meowed, unexpectedly disappointed.

Shadow looked at me in surprise and I felt my fur get hot. "No I'm glad I helped you out, I just used my w-" he lashed his tail and let out a sigh. "I'm happy you weren't hurt" he finally said, turning around and heading back towards Rosekit who looked utterly shocked.

I let out a shiver of worry as Leafstar and Brackenflame appeared from the leaders den.

"Let all those old enough to hunt their own prey gather beneath the highstones for a clan meeting" her graceful voice rang through the air.

"Five kits have reached the age of apprenticeship. Lionkit, Talonkit, Mallowkit, Moonkit, and Pebblekit please step forward" Leafstar commanded, looking to the kits that were already sitting in the clearing,

I shuddered in anticipation as I looked around to see who my mentor would be.

"Lionkit, you have reached the age of six moons. From now until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Lionpaw. Your mentor will be Goosewing. Goosewing I expect you to teach everything you know to young Lionpaw." Leafstar rasped.

I looked up to the tortoiseshell and white leader and noticed her fur was becoming grey. I sighed and fluffed out my well groomed pelt as Leafstar called out Talonkit next. "Talonkit you have reached the age of six moons. From now until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Talonpaw. Gingerfoot it is time you have your first apprentice." Leafstar started.

I felt Talonpaw physically stiffen beside me. He probably wanted a well trained warrior who could teach better than a warrior who hadn't had an apprentice yet.

"Gingerfoot I expect you to teach everything that Brackenflame has taught you to Talonpaw." Leafstar finished, casting her gaze onto me.

I pinned my ears to my head and looked to my paws nervously. "Mallowkit you have reached the age of six moons. From now until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Mallowpaw. Snowflower, I believe it is time you took on another apprentice. You've trained Flametalon well and I expect you to pass on everything you know" Leafstar finished.

I felt my jaw drop as Snowflower jumped off the highrocks and padded towards me, stretching out her neck to touch my nose.

I quickly stretched my neck, hitting my nose a bit too hard with Snowflower's.

I bit back a yelp of surprise and looked apologetically to Snowflower.

The snowy white queen purred softly and led me towards Lionpaw and Talonpaw.

I watched as Moonkit became Moonpaw, and got Stormheart as her mentor.

Next was Pebblekit.

"Pebblekit you have reached the age of six moons. From now until you receive your warrior name-" Leafstar began before her sister called out.

"Wait! I don't want to be a warrior. I want to be a medicine cat. Just like my mama" Pebblekit mewed quietly.

Leafstar looked shocked and she turned to Blueleaf who nodded curtly. "Well if that is your wish then Blueleaf will take you to the Moonstone tonight at half-moon. But I name you Pebblepaw." Leafstar finished.

As the clan began to cheer for the new apprentices Leafstar flicked her tail for silence. I stared at her, confused on what was happening.

"Greycloud tells me that my son is finally eligible to become a warrior. Sunpaw please step forward" Leafstar commanded.

The golden tom stepped forward, fur slicked back and shining lightly under the sun light.

"Sunpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and protect and defend your clan even at the cost of your life?" the leader challenged her son.

"I do!" Sunpaw meowed proudly.

"Then by the power of StarClan I give you your warrior name. Sunpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Sunstreak. StarClan honors your patience and devotion. And we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan." Leafstar meowed as the clan cats cheered the newest warriors name, Cinderflame, Spottedwing, Flametalon, and Kinkfur cheering the loudest.

After all the congratulations were done Leafstar held up her tail once more.

I let out an irritated growl and plopped back down, "Oh what now?" I muttered crossly.

Snowflower cuffed my left ear softly and I looked down embarrassed.

"I have one last announcement. Greycloud found a rogue passing through the territory who showed great interest in learning our ways. Though he might be a bit older than the rest of the apprentices he will get his warrior name late also." Leafstar announced.

The clan shifted uneasily and looked around, spotting the black tom sitting by Rosekit.

"Shadow please step forward." Leafstar commanded.

I watched as the black tom stepped gracefully to where Leafstar beckoned him.

"Shadow you say you come from a far away place and that you wanted to join our clan. Well I accept your request. From now until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Shadowpaw. Greycloud I know you've just been relieved from apprentice duty, but I believe you will be able to teach this tom everything there is to know about clan life and the warrior code" Leafstar meowed, dipping her head.

I sat closest to the black tom as Greycloud padded to him. She stretched her neck out and he looked confused and nervous.

I rolled my eyes and leaned over, whispering against his ear fur. "Touch noses with her" I whispered.

Shadowpaw looked at me gratefully and touched noses with Greycloud.

Snowflower nudged me and I stood up, looking at her. "Where are we going today?" I asked excitedly, noticing that Greycloud had appeared by her sisters side.

"Me and Greycloud thought that we would take you to snakerocks. I feel like learning the dangerous places first will help Shadowpaw learn where to go and where not to go" Snowflower explained.

I sneaked a look to the black tom and noticed that his yellow eyes were looking into mine.

I pressed my against my head and looked back to the two sisters who were already padding away.

"C'mon slow slug" I grumbled as I followed our mentors.

As soon as we were out of the camp I let out a surprised gasp.

The forest was beautiful!

The new-leaf breeze ruffled my fur and I looked to Shadowpaw, who was staring upwards.

I assessed his body as his muscles ripple under his pure black pelt, the fur on his side quivering with... longing? _Did this tom use to live up in the trees?_ I asked myself, shaking my head and noticing a small puddle from yesterdays rain.

I stopped and looked at the reflection, cringing at the sight of my eyes. My purple eyes shined with curiosity as I spotted a pair of yellow eyes watching my reflection.

"What are you staring at me because you think my eyes are weird." I snapped, my true self coming to the surface, tears threatening to spill.

"So what I'm a freak of nature?" I hissed.

Shadowpaw looked taken back and he padded closer to me, suddenly pushing his muzzle into my shoulder.

"No... I was just thinking about how beautiful your eyes were" the tom murmured, his breath warm against my shoulder.

I let out a small sigh and noticed our mentor were looking at a bunch of rocks. "C'mon let's go it looks like they're lost" I joked, dashing towards my mentor.

I began to gain speed before I realized they were closer than I thought.

I began to skid to a halt, sliding past the two she-cats.

Snowflower let out a shocked cry as I turned towards them, in front of me was a long brown and black reptile.

I squeaked in terror and the snake turned towards me.

"No sudden movements Mallowpaw!" Snowflower ordered, looking for a way to save me.

I locked my eyes with Shadowpaw and his yellow eyes were clouded with conflicting emotions.

The snake began to slither slowly towards me.

It gaped its jaws at me, venom dripping from its hooked fangs.

Before the horrid creature could lunge at me black fur flashed in front of me, hissing and spitting.

I gasped at Shadowpaw and tried to shove him away.

The pure black tom glared at me, pushing me away and turned his burning gaze back onto the snake.

The snake let out a terrifying hiss, and lunged at Shadowpaw.

"Shadowpaw no!" I screeched, the sound of wings unfolding overtook my voice.

I stumbled back in shock, realizing that Shadowpaw had wings, and was using them to protect me!

_What in StarClan's name is going on here?_


	3. Chapter 2: Shadow

**Guess who's back from the dead? :D This gal right here! Eyup, I've been a poor author and not updating, but I've had major writers block and it sucks. But I've decided to continue the story in third person because I'm more suited to write in third person. Now An I going to revise the last two chapters? Maybe, but probably not. I'm gonna try and be more diligent in updating this story I promise! Read and review please :3**

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Shadowpaw growled at the adder that sat in front of him. No way was he going to let it kill the beautiful blue-grey she-cat that stood behind him. He would have to run.

There was no question about it. There was no way they were going to accept him now. He scrunched up his face trying to remember what Rainbow taught him about adders.

_Wings out, check! _Shadowpaw began to run a checklist through his head.

_Loud noises? Check! _He continued, letting out an earsplitting screech.

The snake shrunk back slightly, hissing and spitting just like he was.

_Oh what was the last thing Rainbow? _Shadowpaw pleaded silently to the slightly cloudy sky.

Suddenly a breeze ruffled his feather and he let off a small grin. He began to shake his wings rapidly, edging closer to the adder.

The adder turned to slither away and he pounced quickly, his wings helping glide easily across the ground as he caught the snake in his jaws, killing his prey.

Shadowpaw quickly folded his wings back into the hidden position and dropped the snake at Greycloud and Snowflower's paws, dipping his head.

"Thank you for giving me a chance... I suppose I should go now" Shadowpaw mumbled sadly, turning to take his leave. He pushed lightly past Mallowpaw and spread his wings to take flight.

"Wait Shadowpaw! Come back, Leafstar will definitely want to hear about this. You will definitely be a great asset to the clan!" Snowflower began to explain, but her words went right through his ears as Mallowpaw brushed her pelt against his.

Shadowpaw looked at her in shock and she beamed a shy smile towards him and looked away again. "Please come home" she whispered, almost inaudibly.

Shadowpaw realized his body had been tensed up and he let it relax, his wings unfurling slightly.

"So when you helped me up earlier am I to assume you used your wing to help me up?" Mallowpaw asked him.

Shadowpaw pressed his ears against his head and nodded sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, I was gonna try and hide it for at least a moon, but it seems I couldn't help myself" Shadowpaw half joked to Mallowpaw.

Mallowpaw let out a soft chuckle and he felt her pelt brush against his once more, she was shivering violently.

Shadowpaw extended his right wing and draped it around the smaller she-cat, hoping to comfort her. He felt Mallowpaw stiffen, but relaxed as he soft feathers tickled her fur.

Mallowpaw's purple eyes peeked up at him and quickly went back to the ground.

Shadowpaw began to think back when he was deciding on what to do. Save Mallowpaw or keep his wings a secret.

Shadowpaw let out a rather loud purr and Mallowpaw looked to him.

"What are you so happy about?" Mallowpaw asked snapped.

"I was just thinking that your eyes could be a weapon to any tom that liked you" he meowed, spreading his left wing.

"If you asked me to soar up into the skies and bring you back a fluff of cloud I would do it." Shadowpaw admitted.

Mallowpaw let out a _mrrow _of amusement and looked at him impishly. "So you like me then?" she asked teasingly.

Shadowpaw felt his face heat up and he pinned his ears to his head. "O-Only as a f-friend though!" he stuttered nervously.

Shadowpaw watched as Mallowpaw's eagerness began to fade. He let out a sigh and mentally scratched himself.

_I"m such an idiot! Of course I like her a little more than friends! _

Shadowpaw spotted the entrance to the camp and quickly folded his wings, his right one reluctantly folded back into place. He watched as a white tom with bright ginger paws pad out of the entrance with Talonpaw following him more slowly, looking utterly upset.

"Gingerfoot! Could you wait for a couple seconds? We're gonna tell Leafstar something and she's for sure going to hold a clan meeting. Every warrior needs to be present." Snowflower meowed, draping her tail over the new mentor.

"W-What about my apprentice?" Gingerfoot stammered, flicking his tail nervously.

"Don't worry you can get right back out there once the meeting is over" Snowflower cooed, oddly attached to the tom.

Shadowpaw looked to Mallowpaw as they entered the camp and noticed she no longer noticed he was there. He followed her gaze and spotted a golden tom, with sparkling sapphire blue eyes. His tail lifted in greeting and Mallowpaw trotted over to him happily.

The russet colored kit beside him looked appalled and stood up angrily and stomped off towards the nursery.

Snowflower stiffened beside him and ran off towards the kit.

"Poor Vixenkit, it's obvious she really like Lionpaw, but it seems he only has eyes for Mallowpaw." Greycloud whispered.

Shadowpaw lashed his tail in fury and glared at the golden tom. He watched as the two cats twine tails and began to laugh together.

_Keep acting like that towards her and I'll kill you for sure! _

Shadowpaw snapped out of his thoughts and watched Greycloud leap the highrocks towards Leafstar's den.

Shadowpaw watched as Leafstar hobbled to the top of the high rocks. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the highrocks for a clan meeting." she called out gracefully.

Sunstreak, Cinderflame, Spottedwing, Kinkfur, and Flametalon were the first to gather beneath her, waiting to hear their mother's words.

Shadowpaw noticed that Flametalon and Cinderflame acted oddly towards each other and shyly sat next to each other.

Soon the rest of the clan flooded into the clearing.

_Surely after this event Mallowpaw will be all mine! _

As the rest of the cats sat down to listen to Leafstar, Greycloud flicked her tail signaling Shadowpaw to get into the middle of the clearing.

As he pushed his way past the warriors he sat in the middle of the clearing warriors whispered doubts about him, and he was ready to stretch out his wings to their full size to make them shut up.

"Greycloud tells me that Mallowpaw came face to face with an adder" Leafstar began.

Shadowpaw turned to see Lionpaw slobbering all over Mallowpaw's face with his tongue. He lashed his tail, too deep in thought to hear Leafstar call out his name.

"Shadowpaw! Please show us how you fended off the adder if you may" Leafstar meowed, irritation radiating in her voice.

Shadowpaw looked up to ThunderClan's leader and arched his back, baring his fangs.

They didn't believe him.

Shadowpaw felt his muscles ripple in his back as his wings spread to their full length.

The cats of ThunderClan all gasped and there were two sighs of awe.

Shadowpaw swiveled his head and spotted both Rosekit and Mallowpaw looking at him with a mixture of awe and maybe love? He sneaked a smug look at Lionpaw, who was fuming at him.

"Oh my StarClan, Shadowpaw how long have you had them?" the one they called Cinderflame asked, sniffing at the feathers.

"Ever since I was little and they're getting bigger just about everyday. They grow just like my body does." Shadowpaw explained, fidgeting nervously.

"Oh I know I can go get the adder I killed!" Shadowpaw meowed quickly, stretching his wings and taking off from the ground. He heard yowls of surprise as he began to soar through the sky towards snakerocks.

Shadowpaw flapped his wings a couple of times and reached the clouds, touching it with his paws.

The cloud split into two at his touch and he sighed, diving down to where the smell of adder came from.

As Shadowpaw landed he noticed that the adder was gone, as if a cat had dragged it away. He began to sniff around and scented a trail.

The tom wrinkled his nose in disgust and began to follow the trail, winding through the forest. For what felt like moons he finally reached a black path.

_Oh what did the no-furs call these? Roads? _

Shadowpaw shook his head and tentatively put his two front paws on the "road" and lifted his front paw to move forward when teeth met his scruff.

As Shadowpaw was dragged over the black pavement a monster roared past, spitting gravel at him.

"Are you a mouse-brain?" a deep voice growled. Shadowpaw spun around and looked into a pair of sapphire blue eyes.

An image of Rosekit floated through his mind and he tilted his head.

"You remind me of Rosekit..." Shadowpaw mumbled, assessing the tom in case he had to fight him.

"What about my daughter?" the tom hissed.

Shadowpaw took a step back and gawked up at the tom. "I don't know you" he whined, feeling his wings quiver against his side.

The flame pelted tom raised his paw with claws unsheathed when a black she-cat stuck her head out from behind the tom.

"Wait Brackenflame isn't that the tom Leafstar welcomed into the clan?" the she-cat meowed curiously.

Brackenflame lowered his paws, his eyes shining with embarrassment as he leaned forward and sniffed at him.

"He does have Snowflower's and Greycloud's scent on him." Brackenflame admitted.

Shadowpaw felt a wave of relief, his wings falling from his side.

"Whoa that's cool" the black she-cay murmured.

"Let's go quickly and on the way back to camp you can tell me why you were about to cross the thunderpath." Brackenflame growled, turning around and leading the way back to the camp.

"Well I went back to go find the snake that I killed and it was gone! I found a scent trail and well that's where you found me about to cross that thunder...path?" Shadowpaw replied, trying the string the last word together.

Brackenflame rolled his eyes in exasperation, flicking his tail to silence Shadowpaw and trotted ahead as the entrance of the camp came into view.

With a sigh Shadowpaw perked his ears and listened to Nightheart pant heavily as they climbed over a log.

Shadowpaw jumped, opening his wings and flapping them until he was above Nightheart. He sunk his teeth into her scruff and helped her down, slowing down her decent so she could land better. He landed next to her and she gave him a nod of thanks.

Shadowpaw watched as Brackenflame disappeared through the entrance. He ran ahead slightly and pushed his right wing through the entrance and pushed the brambles out of the way so Nightheart could get in easier, to his expense.

Nightheart gave him another nod and pushed herself through.

Shadowpaw followed her and noticed that her body became giddy as she spotted a dark grey tom. She quickly padded up to him and touched noses with him.

Shadowpaw watched on awkwardly as she leaned into his ear in whisper something, his face turning from excitement, dismay, then unconditional love.

"Shadowpaw! My dad said he needed to see you!" Rosekit squeaked, breaking his concentration on Nightheart and the dark grey tom.

"W-what was that Rosekit , I was watching those two over there" Shadowpaw meowed, looking at the dark grey tom with amber eyes.

"Oh you mean Stormheart and Nightheart? Mama says that Nightheart is gonna be in the nursery soon" Rosekit mewed, flicking her tail excitedly.

"Hopefully I'll get to play with her kits before I become an apprentice." Rosekit squeaked excitedly.

Shadowpaw let out a purr and nudged Rosekit towards the nursery where Snowflower stuck her head in to check on her and Greycloud's kits.

"Your mother is going to be worried, and I don't want to get in trouble." Shadowpaw meowed sternly.

The pale ginger she-kit puffed out and glared at him. "I'm not some silly kit anymore! I'm about to become an apprentice!" Rosekit whined, her big blue eyes staring up at him.

There was a tiny scoff and a group of kits appeared from behind Rosekit.

A grey tabby tom with darker patches of grey began to stalk her tail.

Before he could even pounce Rosekit glared back at him. "Patchkit leave my tail alone for the hundredth time!" Rosekit spat at the tom.

Patchkit huffed and glared at Shadowpaw. "Ever since you joined the clan she's declared she's "all grown-up". Why don't you two just become mates already?" Patchkit snarled, the light grey tom beside him, fidgeting nervously.

"P=Patchkit cut it out!" he hissed nervously, sneaking a peak at Rosekit.

Shadowpaw sighed and turned his back to the group of kits "I'm not interested in having a mate anytime soon" Shadowpaw meowed snobbishly, sticking his nose in the air.

Shadowpaw heard a cry of hurt and thrumming of one kit coming towards him. He turned and was knocked over by a kit almost as big as him.

The cream colored tom spat in his face and dug his claws into Shadowpaw's skin.

"W-Who are you?" Shadowpaw asked between clenched teeth.

"The name's Sandkit and nobody, I repeat, nobody breaks my sister's heart!" the kit snarled raking his claws across his body, not leaving deep enough scratches to scar.

"Sandkit what are you doing? Get off the tom right this instance!" Brackenflame's growl sounded and the cream colored kit was lifted off him.

"I apologize for my kits behavior Shadowpaw, please come with me to speak with Leafstar. Mallowpaw, Greycloud and Snowflower are already there. "Sandkit me and your mother will discuss your punishment" Brackenflame hissed at his son, picking up his son by the scruff.

Shadowpaw listened to Sandkit's rather loud protests as he padded toward the highrocks until it faded behind the nursery walls. He hooked his claws into the little place where claws had been before and hauled himself up the rocks until he spotted the leaders den.

Shadowpaw stuck his head in there spotted Mallowpaw's purple eye right away. He sat next to her and she stiffened slightly. "Why's your fur wet?" Mallowpaw whispered urgently, her fur brushing against his.

Before Shadowpaw could answer Snowflower sniffed him over and gasped.

"You smell of blood and my kit. What happened?" she asked frantically, her fur bristling.

"Well I was talking to Rosekit..." Shadowpaw began to explain.

"Our Sandkit attacked him Snowflower, we have to discuss punishment for him" Brackenflame meowed sternly, entering the den. Shadowpaw relaxed as Mallowpaw began to wash his cuts, her muttering amusing him. "Stupid kit" she mumbled, pausing from cleaning him.

Leafstar let out a sigh and looked around, her leaf green eyes flashing as she looked at each cat.

"ShadowClan has been stealing our prey for long enough!"


	4. Chapter 3: Lion

**Hiya guys! Sorry I took so long and sorry this chapter is so short D: I needed to introduce this character and I honestly couldn't type anymore for it lol. Now enter the world of Lionpaw**

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The golden tom opened his blue eyes and stretched out his back. His eyes flickered to where Mallowpaw's nest was and he let out a sigh of irritation.

That she-cat didn't know when to sit still and rest.

The golden tom let out another sigh and looked towards Talonpaw who slept soundly.

How come Wildfur had to tell him to be nice to _her?_

Talonpaw didn't have the same burden as him. He lashed his tail and sent flecks of moss at his brother accidentally.

"Great StarClan Lionpaw, I know I snore, but you don't need to wake me up from my nap." Talonpaw groaned. His brother cracked open, his icy blue eyes glaring at his brother."You better go hang out with that freak before mother gets mad" his growled, rolling over.

"Tch, shut your muzzle Talon_kit_" Lionpaw snarled, searching the entrance for any signs of movement.

"Excuse me? Lionpaw just because mother has asked you to be mates out of pity for the _freak_ doesn't give you the right to call names." Talonpaw snapped, getting to his paws and glaring at at him.

Lionpaw let out a hiss of annoyance and stomped out of the den, scanning the clearing for Mallowpaw. He spotted her purple eyes peering at him and he flinched inwardly.

Lionpaw felt the eyes of his mother on him and he padded towards the newest apprentice. He noticed Pebblepaw, and Moonpaw were looking at him skeptically. He waved his tail to them and beamed at them.

Lionpaw looked forward once again and noticed that Shadowpaw was with her. He lashed his tail and plopped in between the duo, sending a cloud of dust over Shadowpaw and his meal.

"So Mallowpaw what's the deal sitting with the freak?" he asked, casting a look at the winged cat.

The pure black tom had just finished cleaning off the dust that got on his meal. His piercing yellow eyes, glaring at him.

"Lionpaw don't you dare call him that! He saved my life after all" Mallowpaw meowed, clearly angry that he had called Shadowpaw a freak.

"So what? I'm happy you're still alive, but just for that one act of... of... kindness you're not gonna call him what he is?" Lionpaw asked, staring into Mallowpaw's sparkling purple eyes.

Mallowpaw shook her head in disbelief and glared at him. "If Shadowpaw's a freak than so am I! Don't you remember the first thing you called me when you saw my purple eyes?" Mallowpaw hissed, bringing back the nasty reminder of what he had done.

* * *

"_Whoa what color are your eyes?" Lionkit whispered, not wanting to wake up the sleeping blue-grey queen beside Mallowkit. _

"_Mama says it's the color of the herb called mallow. She says it suits my fur well." Mallowkit squeaked sheepishly. _

"_Talonkit says your the only one with that eye color. Is it true?" Lionkit asked, looking around to make sure no one would hear him. _

_Mallowkit .shifted out of the way as newest kits ran out of the nursery, leaving Snowflower and Greycloud to sleep peacefully along with Blueleaf and Wildfur. _

"_Y-Yeah... Mother says to try not to look any cat in the eyes... So that I won't get my feelings hurt" Mallowkit whispered softly. _

_Lionpaw scoffed looking at her eyes again, showing his disgust rather rudely. _

"_So the freak's mother told her to look away from cats. Talonkit I figured out why the freak is so shy!" Lionkit called loudly to his brother. _

_Talonkit quickly slunk out of hiding and stood beside him. _

"_So the reject medicine cat told her kit to look away from the cat that is talking to her?" Talonkit asked, putting his paw under Mallowkit's muzzle to lift her face. _

_Lionkit watched as Mallowkit stiffened her body and lashed out her paw, catching his brother in the chest. _

_The blood began to soak through his grey fur quickly and Lionkit growled, leaping on top of the smaller kit. He unsheathed his claws and pressed them above her eye. _

"_Now apologize to Talonkit and I won't hurt you freak!" Lionkit snarled. _

_Mallowkit looked away instantly, but glared back up at the golden tom. "N-Never! No cat insults mama like that and gets away with it!" Mallowkit declared, continuing to squirm underneath him. _

_Lionkit pressed his claws down hard, slashing his claws in a x shape across her face. _

_Mallowkit screeched in pain and cried louder than he expected. "Mama! Mama help me!" she wailed loudly. _

_Blueleaf was up instantly, barreling Lionkit over. _

"_Hey watch where you're putting your paws Blue-" Wildfur cut off as she spotted Mallowkit writhing in pain. _

"_What happened here?" Wildfur demanded, turning on her kits. _

"_M-Mallowkit hurt Talonkit! I had to defend him against that... that freak!" Lionkit defended himself. _

_Wildfur screeched loudly, cuffing her son hard enough to knock him over. Lionkit cried out and cowered beneath his mother. _

"_That's it! I've had enough of you two kits calling sweet little Mallowkit a freak. You both are confined to the nursery until your apprentice ship! Who knows what Leafstar will do. She might even delay your apprenticeship which means Mallowpaw and her sisters would be warriors before you!" Wildfur snarled, shoving her kits to their nest. _

_Lionkit watched as Blueleaf returned with cobwebs and herbs and began to treat her daughter, feeding her some poppy seeds._

* * *

Lionpaw sighed and looked at the scar that went across her face. He thanked StarClan that only one of his scratches had left a scar, or her stupid eyes would've stuck out more.

"I've already apologized to the moon and back! Can't you forgive me?" Lionpaw meowed exasperated.

Mallowpaw looked infuriated with him and she unsheathed her claws, digging them into the ground.

"How can I forgive you for disfiguring my beauty?!" Mallowpaw nearly shouted. By now half of the clan was listening to their conversation, or argument.

Lionpaw pinned his ears against his skull and looked to his paws, lost for words.

"I don't think it disfigured you. I think you look more beautiful with that scar" Shadowpaw's quiet voice meowed from the left of him.

Lionpaw glared at the black tom and lashed his tail, "Nobody asked you freak!" _This idiot tom is always one paw step ahead of me when it comes to Mallowpaw. I have to win her affection or Wildfur will hate me for the rest of my life! _

Then the answer dawned on him. He had to be nice to Shadowpaw. As much as it sickened him Mallowpaw would warm up to him if he was nice to the winged freak.

Lionpaw cringed slightly and turned to Shadowpaw again. "S-Sorry I didn't mean to call you a freak. It slipped out because my brother uses that word so frequently." Lionpaw apologized. The two cats looked at him with surprised and he rolled his eyes and stood up.

"I'm going to go see what Goosewing wants me to do." Lionpaw meowed, heading towards his father.

Of course it was unusual for a parent to mentor their child, but when his father took him out he became a completely different cat.

Almost as if he weren't his father.

Lionpaw locked gazes with his father's pale blue eyes and he beamed. "Ah my son what do you need?" he asked gently, licking his forehead.

"I need something to do. I'm bored" Lionpaw complained. His father's loving gaze vanished, and turned into an intense gaze.

"Leafstar is about to make an announcement, but once she finishes that I'll take you out hunting" he meowed to Lionpaw.

Lionpaw sighed as his father went to go sit next to Wildfur.

Rumor had it they didn't fall in love until Wildfur was expecting kits.

_My parents fit well together, so everything turned out okay. _

Lionpaw was snatched out of his thoughts as Leafstar's voice rang out. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath me for a clan meeting!" Leafstar yowled.

The entire clan was already in the clearing so Leafstar did not have to wait long. "I had a meeting with my deputy and most trusted warriors. We have decided to go get Redfeather back from ShadowClan and demand they stop stealing our prey!" Leafstar yowled, moving her leaf green eyes across the clearing.

Lionpaw noticed that Snowflower looked fidgety and nervous. "I also have a bit of sad news. Snowflower is stepping down from deputy position permanently and has requested that Brackenflame take her place. I hope that StarClan approves" Leafstar meowed loudly.

Lionpaw grew irritated with her wobbly voice as age was catching up to her.

And quick.

"Stupid old cats" Lionpaw growled softly.

Lionpaw felt a paw connect with his head and he quickly regained his balance, seeing who had cuffed him in the head.

Snowflower stood over him, glaring down at him. "Don't let me hear you say that again. About Leafstar or about any elder! They've served their clan a lot longer than you have and if you can't respect that then it'll get you in a lot of trouble." Snowflower warned, huffing with irritation.

"Leafstar should just retire" Lionpaw muttered, glancing back up at where Leafstar was standing.

"If she's getting old she could hurt herself and well she's a good leader. If you feel like you're getting old shouldn't you retire?" Lionpaw asked, looking up at the snowy white queen.

"You're getting older. Should you retire?" Snowflower shot back, pushing past the golden apprentice.

"N-No! I shouldn't retire!" Lionpaw called to her.

Snowflower flicked her ears indicating that she had heard as she disappeared into the nursery.

* * *

Lionpaw panted as he watched Goosewing slither across the ground, circling him.

Lionpaw sighed loudly and scooted out of the way as Goosewing dived at him.

Lionpaw nodded in satisfaction, but was suddenly barreled over as Goosewing pinned him.

"Rule number one never let your opponent get back up, you'll be dead for sure" Goosewing growled, stepping off of Lionpaw.

Lionpaw hissed with frustration and got to his paws, shaking the dust from his pelt. "I'm not gonna attack you like that, I would only attack an enemy, once my clan mate hits the ground I have won the skirmish." Lionpaw growled, glaring at Goosewing.

"That's no good. I don't know if you can pin me down or not which means you won't be able to pass your warriors assessment." Goosewing began to lecture.

Lionpaw felt overwhelming anger and he lunged, knocking his father off his paws.

The two tom wrestled for a while and Lionpaw bared his fangs, pinning down Goosewing.

Lionpaw felt the blood swell from the nick in his ear and he noticed claw marks all over his father.

Lionpaw looked down at his paw and noticed that his claws were unsheathed and digging into his father's neck.

Lionpaw widened his eyes and peeled his claws out of Goosewing's neck.

"S-Sorry fath-" Lionpaw began to apologize.

Goosewing shoved him over and snarled in his face. "Do not call me that! You go catch prey right now! Until the sun has gone down! And when you get back to camp you make sure the elders are taken care of and Leafstar will have a punishment set out for you" Goosewing spat, stomping off through the forest.

Lionpaw stared after him, shocked at the sudden anger that over took him. He looked around and spotted a silvery-white she-cat dancing through the tree, giggling impishly.

"I see you're having love troubles... Perhaps I can help you" the she-cat suggested, a fishy smell overtaking Lionpaw as he blacked out.

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**I do believe everyone knows who I'm taking about (If not then I'll reveal it in the next Lionpaw chapter) Read and Review, allegiances coming next!  
**


	5. Allegiances

**Here's the Allegiance for ThunderClan! Somebody asked me to post this and here ya go! And in case you're wondering Brackenflame is Snowflower's mate while Redfeather is Greycloud's mate. **

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Leader: Leafstar- Tortoiseshell and white she-cat with greying fur and leaf green eyes

Deputy: Brackenflame - Flame colored tom with a scar on his shoulder and a sliced ear with sapphire blue eyes

Medicine cat: Blueleaf – Beautiful blue-grey she-cat with blue eyes Apprentice, Pebblepaw

Warriors:

Goosewing: Speckled grey tom with pale blue eyes (Father to Lionpaw and Talonpaw)

Stormheart: Dark grey tom with amber eyes

Wildfur: Golden tabby she-cat with blue eyes with fur that sticks out at all angles (Mother to Lionpaw and Talonpaw)

Lilywhisker: A small dark tabby she-cat with white patches and blue eyes

Snowflower: Snow white she-cat with a v shaped nick in her ear and a scar going from her left shoulder to her flank and another scar going down her right eye with icy blue eyes, Apprentice - Mallowpaw

Greycloud: Light grey she-cat with a dark grey stripe going down her back and tail ending at her grey tipped tail, has a scar above her nose and a larger scar on her chest, has a torn ear with deep blue eyes, Apprentice - Shadowpaw

Redfeather: Red colored battle-scarred tom with a scar on his flank with leaf green eyes

Nightheart: Pure black she-cat with emerald green eyes

Cinderflame: Dark grey she-cat with deep blue eyes

Spottedwing: White tom with gold flecks and green eyes

Sunstreak: Golden tabby tom with sapphire blue eyes

Kinkfur: Golden tom with green eyes

Flametalon: Fire pelted tom with leaf green eyes

Gingerfoot: Snow white tom with bright ginger paws

Apprentices:

Mallowpaw: Blue-grey she-cat that has a scar going diagonally across her face, and purple eyes

Moonpaw: Light grey she-cat with sapphire blue eyes

Pebblepaw: Light grey she-cat with pale blue eyes (Medicine cat apprentice)

Lionpaw: Pure golden tom with sapphire blue eyes

Talonpaw: Brownish-gold tom with golden flecks and icy blue eyes

Shadowpaw: Pure black tom with piercing yellow eyes and darker black wings.

Queens -

Greycloud (Mother to Patchkit – Light grey tom with darker patches, Ashkit – Dark grey she-kit with a light grey stripe ending at her light grey tail tip, and Stormkit – Light grey tom with a white patch on his chest)

Snowflower (Mother to Rosekit – Petite pale ginger she-cat with a white tipped paw, Sandkit – big cream colored tom with blazing blue eyes, Vixenkit – Russet colored she-kit with a bushy tail, similar to a fox and white tipped tail)

Nightheart (Expecting Stormheart's kits)

Elders:

Flamedapple – Tortoiseshell tom with dull amber eyes (Can't move his back legs)

Brightheart – Black she-cat with dull green eyes (Too upset to serve her clan)

Brackenfoot – White tom with black flecks and greying fur.

Cats in StarClan -

Spottedpelt – White tom with dark grey flecks and blue eyes

Ashflower – Light grey she-cat with icy blue eyes

Jaywing – Blue-grey tom with deep blue eyes

Sunstar – Golden tabby tom with sapphire blue eyes

Cats outside of the Clans -

Fang – pale grey tom with glowing amber eyes

Twig – Dark brown tabby tom with curved front claws (Fang's older brother and a lot nicer than Fang_

Fairy – Beautiful silver she-cat with odd yellow eyes


	6. Chapter 4: Vixen

**GUESS WHO"S BACK! I bet you guys weren't expecting this to come back after what? 7 months? But I felt like typing this up and it may be short, but I like to think it's a good chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I enjoyed typing cute little prickly Vixenkit!**

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Vixenkit huffed with annoyance as she left the nursery full of shrieking kit laughter. A tail tip touched her shoulder and she looked back to see a giggling Sandkit. "I'm not a fox so leave me alone!" she snarled, shoving her larger brother to the ground and bolting to the dirt-place.

Everyone always teased her for her name and she hated it! She hated Snowflower for naming her after a mangy fox!

The russet colored she-kit wiggled her body until she was out of the camp and in the forest. It was bigger than the entire camp! She looked up the ravine and sighed with irritation. She was almost six moons old so she should be able to climb the ravine.

Vixenkit finally clambered to the top and saw her mother's plumy tail disappear into the undergrowth. She let out a sigh of relief and began to sniff around until she noticed the stale scent of... Lionpaw! She began to track down the golden tom until she heard the undergrowth rustling.

Vixenkit dove into into a nearby bush and peeked out, watching Goosewing stomp by and towards the camp, blood droplets trailing after that the speckled grey tom.

Vixenkit gaped at the blood on the ground and slinked out of her hiding spot, and began to follow the blood to where Goosewing came from. Soon she stumbled across a freshly buried dirt patch and she began to dig, only to find a clump of bloodied golden fur.

Vixenkit gasped in shock and began to run towards Lionpaw's scent. The russet colored kit didn't care how much noise she was making as she followed his scent, finally seeing the golden tom beaten just as badly as Goosewing.

Vixenkit scrunched up her nose in disgust as the smell of fish lingered in the area. She padded up to the golden tom and nudged him roughly, trying to get him to wake up. "Lionpaw, wake up! You're lying in your own pool of blood! Please you gotta be alright!" she begged, burying her head into his thick fur. She would be lying if she said she didn't like the tom more than a friend.

In fact Vixenkit _loved _Lionpaw, ever since she opened her eyes. Of course he was Lionkit back then and she even joined in when he gave Mallowkit a hard time. Sure Mallowpaw was her friend, but it still didn't exempt her from her freaky purple eyes.

"Please Lionpaw... I don't want to lose you" Vixenkit pleaded. Lionpaw stirred and sat up with a grunt, looking around dazed.

"W-What?" he asked, finally spotting Vixenkit. His eyes softened and everything seemed frozen in time. Vixenkit moved her tail and noticed everything actually was frozen.

There wasn't a smell of fish anymore and she noticed a light grey she-cat with icy blue eyes with the a look of distress on her face. "Please little one you have to tell them! I beg of you!" the light grey she-cat begged.

"W-What is it?" Vixenkit asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

The she-cat took a shaky breath and beginning to speak, "Under the willow tree is where the Mallow blossoms, protected by nothing but a mere shadow. But the shadow must beware for a lions claw is louder than the lions roar, bringing back the arctic buds rage." the she-cat spoke, with more than just her voice, with all the voices of StarClan uniting as one.

Vixenkit felt her fur fluff up as images crossed her mind. One of dead apprentices, Lionpaw standing over them with a crazed look in his eyes. His golden fur stained with the dark crimson liquid.

Vixenkit screeched in fear as more images of cats she loved dead at the paws of Lionpaw. Finally having enough she collapsed as time began to move again,

Lionpaw instantly rushing to her side. "Vixenkit?!" he cried, his voice becoming nothing more than a distant call as she passed out.

* * *

When Vixenkit opened her eyes she noticed she wasn't in the forest anymore. She was lying in the medicine cat den, with Pebblepaw looking over her.

"Oh! Thank goodness you're awake! Everyone will be happy to hear!" Pebblepaw purred, standing up and padding away to the entrance of the den.

Vixenkit looked around and noticed Blueleaf was curled in her nest with Rainstrike. The dark grey tom blended in with the shadows well, but was rarely seen outside the medicine cat den. He may be a warrior now, but his training within the medicine cat code stood out a lot. He would come back with herbs more than prey, though the clan never complained as it was nice to have two full fledged medicine cats in the clan.

Vixenkit got to her paws and felt off-balanced, stumbling out of the medicine cat den.

There was a cry of happiness and she was barreled over by white fur. "Oh Vixenkit! What were you doing out in the forest?" Her mother asked, covering her pelt in licks.

Vixenkit sighed and glared towards the nursery where her litter-mates were playing with her den-mates.

"Were they teasing you again?" Snowflower asked softly, draping her tail over her small shoulders.

Vixenkit snorted and brushed off her mothers tail, "Of course they were! Have you not noticed you named me after a fox? A stupid mangy creature! I'm probably worse than Mallowpaw!" Vixenkit shouted, attracting the unwanted attention of passing by warriors.

Snowflower looked down to her paws with patience. "It's such a shame you haven't seen a vixen yet" her mother sighed softly, padding away as Leafstar called for a meeting with her deputy and senior warriors.

Even though Snowflower was no longer deputy she was still welcome to these meetings seeing as her sister's mate was being held hostage by ShadowClan.

They were planning an attack soon as far as Vixenkit knew and both her mother and father would be participating in it.

Vixenkit spotted a familiar golden flash of fur as Lionpaw made his way over to her, his dark blue eyes holding kindness. She quickly looked away, the memory of what that crazy grey cat had shown her resurfacing from the murky depths of her memory.

"What's the matter? Are you feeling okay?" the golden tom asked, sniffing her over.

Vixenkit couldn't help but purr softly as she looked back at Lionpaw. "Yeah I'm fine just still tired from what happened earlier" The russet kit mewed softly.

"Well why don't you go back to the nursery to sleep?" Lionpaw asked, looking towards the nursery where all the other kits were playing around. "Were they bullying you again?" The tom asked, huffing with annoyance.

Vixenkit opened her jaw to respond but Lionpaw grabbed her scruff, making her squeal in surprise.

"You can sleep in the apprentice den until you're better" Lionpaw growled through a mouthful of her fur.

Vixenkit stayed silent as Lionpaw laid her down, settling in his nest next to her. She held a purr in her chest feeling it rumble and vibrate against Lionpaw as she fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**Expect more where this came from! In the next chapter:**

**\- Shadowpaw's POV**

**\- Shadowpaw's first gathering!**

**\- New friends!**

**\- Possibly a battle for Redfeather (Maybe I dunno)**

**Read and review guys!**


	7. Chapter 5: Shadow

**Yaaaaaaay! I'm updating more frequently this time! I think the only reason I stopped updating was I got stuck in a rut. My life really wasn't going anywhere and it was honestly on a boring cycle. Wake up, work, eat sleep, wake up, work, eat, sleep. I was honestly eating, if at all, one meal a day. But I started reading the work I had done on Vixen's chappie and got inspiration and here I am! Hope you enjoy this really sloppy chapter (in my opinion). Oh and heads up I changed what Rosepaw looks like. I wanted one to at least look like Snowflower. Anyways sje's a pure white she-cat with a ginger ringed tail and dark blue eyes.**

* * *

Shadowpaw stretched, spreading his wings as he arched his aching spine. As much as he loved flying in the sky, the tom wish he didn't have them. They made his life a lot more difficult and Greycloud and Mallowpaw have been training him down to the bone. And it was exhausting.

Mallowpaw had come up with excellent battle moves that involved him flying. He learned the basics of ground fighting so he wouldn't have to use his wings, but to ThunderClan it seemed that his wings were more important than his ground fighting skills.

Greycloud had him take to the skies, holding Mallowpaw with all four of his paws. It was tough and his wings weren't quite used to the work out, so most of the time both apprentices would plummet to the ground.

Mallowpaw would go into a fit of giggles when they hit the ground and Shadowpaw was sick of it. He just wanted to perfect this move that Mallowpaw made up just for him! And the she-cat didn't seem to be taking anything seriously.

The black tom scanned his yellow eyes across the den as the cats going to the gathering wanted to grab naps before they left.

In the past moon the apprentice den had become stuffy and crowded with Snowflower's and Greycloud's litters becoming apprentices.

Of course Sandpaw was the worst since his father was deputy, constantly bullying both him and Mallowpaw.

Talonpaw would join in with him along with some of the younger and older warriors. Her beautiful blue-grey pelt was slowly becoming laced with small scar that went unnoticed by all, but him. Every time they shared tongues at the end of the day he would notice new scars and he hated being so useless to her!

Mallowpaw was his best friend and he was supposed to protect her.

Shadowpaw slipped out of the crowed den and breathed in the fresh air, it felt more humid than usual. He sighed in irritation as that usually meant that rain was on the way and that he wouldn't be able to fly for days. Shadowpaw spread his wings and felt a pair of eyes on him and he turned spotting Rosepaw watching him with content.

The white she-cat seemed to always be watching him, her ginger ringed tail flicking every now and then.

Shadowpaw shuddered slightly as a breeze ruffled his feathers and he took flight, heading towards the training hollow. He would be attending the gathering tonight and the black pelted tom wanted to get some training in before then.

As Shadowpaw soared through the sky he was reminded to stick close to the tree tops. He lowered himself and spotted the training hollow, landing on a tree branch not to far away from it.

Shadowpaw began to climb down the tree when he heard voices that stopped him. "Do you think he'll be okay Snowflower? I mean it'll be his first gathering and I went to the one last moon.. But what about his wings? Will Leafstar mention them or will the other clans find out?" A voice fretted.

The tom strained his ears to locate the where the voices were coming from.

"Mallowpaw I'm sure Shadowpaw will be fine. He got along well all by himself for the first eight moons of his life. I'm sure he'll be fine without you" Snowflower explained with a sigh. "Now let's get back to camp so I can rest for the gathering." Snowflower mewed as the sound of paw steps began to fade away.

Shadowpaw purred softly, Mallowpaw was worried about him. He had given up trying to make her his so early on in his apprenticeship and he decided to become good friends instead. Even Lionpaw had eased up on him, at least ever since Vixenpaw became an apprentice. The only apprentice seemingly wanting a mate was Rosepaw and she wanted him.

Shadowpaw sniffed around the training hollow finally locating the log he used for training. He jumped up on top of the log and wrapped his paws around it, extending his wings and flapping them as hard as he could.

The small log was a bit heavier than Mallowpaw so his training with her should be a little easier every day at least.

Shadowpaw finally began to ascend, slowly but surely. It seemed that only seconds had passed until his wings gave out, causing him and the log to crash towards the ground. The tom hissed in pain as he hit the log roughly, sending a jarring feeling through his bones. He would definitely be bruised in the morning.

Shadowpaw sighed as he headed towards the ravine ThunderClan resided in. As he clambered down into it he heard the call of Leafstar gathering the cats going to the gathering. He growled in irritation, not even getting a second to rest his aching muscles.

But then again Shadowpaw was glad that his wings were tired because then he would be able to hide them better.

"The sun is setting I don't want to be late!" Leafstar yowled as she jumped down from her perch. The tortoiseshell and white leader brushed past Shadowpaw gently and exited from where he just entered.

Shadowpaw stood still and watched the warriors and apprentices pass him, recalling all of their names. Stormheart, Kinkfur, Goosewing, Spottedwing, Cinderflame, Greycloud, Snowflower, Brackenflame, Patchpaw, Vixenpaw, Stormpaw, and himself. He was finally learning everyone's name! He was so proud of himself.

Shadowpaw really wasn't sure what to expect from gatherings other than it was all just a bunch of gossip. The group seemed to be head towards fourtrees and Shadowpaw finally realized the purpose of the rock that stood in the middle of the four large trees.

It was the place of the gathering and it seemed big enough for all the clans to fit.

Shadowpaw closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, trying to remember the three other clans. _RiverClan, WindClan, and... ShadeClan..?_ Shadowpaw sighed in disappointment as he knew he was wrong on the last one and trudged behind the excited apprentices as they chattered about the other clans.

"What do you think the other clans will be like? Especially ShadowClan?" Stormpaw asked Rosepaw.

The white she-cat tilted her head in thought and looked to the light grey tom as she spoke, "I really don't know, but I would avoid them at least until we get Redfeather back" Rosepaw warned, worry shining in her eyes for her uncle.

Stormpaw and Patchpaw both exchanged looks of sorrow and Shadowpaw nodded in thought.

Redfeather was their father, how could he forget?

Shadowpaw shook his head as multiple different scents invaded his his nostrils and he tightened his wings towards his side. His exhaustion was pushed away as nervous excitement filled in.

This was his first gathering as a clan cat! Shadowpaw looked around as ThunderClan flooded into Fourtrees.

The scents that waded around him made the black pelted tom dizzy and he sat down, dazed.

Finally after regaining his senses he spotted another black tom, looking just as lost as he was. Shadowpaw swallowed his shyness and padded up to the tom. "Hey there! My name is Shadowpaw, what's yours?" he asked loudly, making the other tom jump.

Pale green eyes met yellow and Shadowpaw instantly liked this tom. "Sorry about me jumping, my ears are sensitive to noise and well you called out rather loud" the tom explained, chuckling nervously.

Shadowpaw nodded in understanding, licking his chest fur in embarrassment.

"My name is Blackpaw! I'm from ShadowClan." Blackpaw explained, giving a toothy grin to Shadowpaw.

"Oh then you're the clan that has Redfeather!" Shadowpaw exclaimed quietly, looking at Blackpaw intently.

Blackpaw shifted his weight uncomfortably as his eyes scanned the surrounding area. "We're taking good care of him! I swear! Plus Maplestar has this mouse-brained idea that ShadowClan needs more territory" He spat disdainfully.

Shadowpaw looked to the Blackpaw with curiosity, "Why were you so nervous to tell me that?"he asked, not to sure of the clan customs yet.

"Oh yeah Leafstar did mention a rogue joining the clan last moon, or so Whitepaw told me, you must be him" Blackpaw mewed excitedly.

So the duo began to chat casually about the other clans while the gathering went about.

"So RiverClan eats fish, WindClan eats rabbits, ThunderClan eats woodland creatures and ShadowClan's specialty is lizards and frogs?" Shadowpaw asked skeptically.

Blackpaw nodded eagerly and grinned at Shadowpaw, "Yeah once you peel off the slimy skin it taste super delicious!" the black tom insisted.

Shadowpaw opened his jaws to reply but was cut off by a small voice. "Hey Shadowpaw it's time to go!" Shadowpaw turned and spotted Rosepaw sitting behind him, her ringed tail neatly laid over her paws.

"Oh Blackpaw this is Rosepaw, one of our new apprentices" Shadowpaw introduced the white she-cat.

Blackpaw sauntered up next to Shadowpaw and dipped his head, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "My name is Blackpaw and I'm honored to meet such a beautiful cat" he purred slyly.

Shadowpaw rolled his eyes as Rosepaw 'hmpfed' and padded away without a single word.

"Hopefully I'll see you at the next gathering!" Shadowpaw meowed, trotting to where his clan was.

"And why might I ask were you talking to that ShadowClan scum?" Rosepaw snarled, her dark blue eyes glinting with a strange sort of malice.

"I get that we hate ShadowClan and all but there is a truce right? At least that's what Blackpaw was telling me. Only at the gathering are all four clans friendly with each other" Shadowpaw recited, confused at the white she-cats anger.

"Shadowpaw how could you consult with ShadowClan?! They have my uncle for StarClan's sake!" Rosepaw suddenly wailed, her blue eyes filled with despair.

Shadowpaw pressed his ears against his head and wondered why he felt guilty. He had no obligation to please Rosepaw and needed more than two friends.

"I... I can do whatever I want Rosepaw... I'm not here to please you!" Shadowpaw blurted out, staring the she-cat right in her eyes.

Rosepaw let out a small whimper and closed her eyes, trembling only once before opening her eyes. Her once dark blue eyes sparkled with friendliness now sparkled with hatred and malice. The she cat spun on her paws and padded deeper into the crowd ThunderClan was making.

Shadowpaw yawned and swayed on his paws as ThunderClan started to descend into the ravine, the gathering had went smoothly and the clan buzzed with gossip.

Shadowpaw sat down heavily and waited one by one as the clan flooded through the entrance, leaving only him and Rosepaw.

The petite white she-cat glared at him and paused before entering camp, her words sending shivers down his spine.

"I will make you mine Shadowpaw, you don't see it, but Mallowpaw will hurt you. I guarantee she will" Rosepaw hissed.

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**Heeeeeyyyyyy don't forget to review guys! I appreciate your feedback! And if you have an idea of what I should do leave a review and I just might make it happen :D **

**What to expect in the next chapter:**

**\- Mallowpaw's POV**

**\- What happened to sweet little Rosepaw?**

**\- Definite skirmish between ShadowClan and ThunderClan.**

**\- A little insight into Shadowpaw's past**

**Until next time!**


	8. Chapter 6: Mallow

**Hi guys! So just to make sure we're clear I accidentally uploaded the last chapter titled as Chapter 5: Mallow. When in reality it should've been Chapter 5: Shadow. This one has Mallowpaw's POV! I promise :D **

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Mallowpaw followed her mentor as they entered camp. Shadowpaw had told her that a ShadowClan apprentice had told him that Redfeather was being treated fairly. She was relieved and worried at the same time.

Why were they treating him so nicely?

Leafstar had announced that the battle would be tomorrow at sun-high and that they would take Redfeather back.

Greycloud seemed the most hopeful at Leafstar's promise, missing her mate dearly.

Mallowpaw also noticed a change in behavior in both Lionpaw and Rosepaw. The white she-cat had always seemed so nice to her and now she was receiving the cold shoulder from the new apprentice.

The gathering had happened three days ago and it felt like moons.

Mallowpaw was about to go look for Shadowpaw when she was roughly shoved into the ground. The blue-grey apprentice let out a yelp of surprise and looked at who shoved her.

It was Rosepaw, her eyes shining in mock shame. "My bad Mallowpaw! I have a tendency to bump into freaks" the white she-cat snickered.

Mallowpaw didn't say a word as she pushed herself off the ground, studying the cat she once called her friend.

Underneath her still-soft kit fur she had hard muscles and her dark blue eyes seemed to be shadowed by a nightmare. In the last moon the once petite cat had grown to be her size.

"Rosepaw, it's always nice to talk to you" Mallowpaw muttered to her.

Rosepaw sat down, sending daggers her way and beginning to clean her fur thoroughly. A little too thoroughly.

Mallowpaw narrowed her eyes into slits as she took a closer looked at the white she-cat. She was cleaning was seemed to be a shallow scratch that seemed fresh. "Hey what happened to you?" she asked, genuinely concerned for her old friend.

Rosepaw looked up at her, a lost look in her eyes. Her eyes sparkled like they used to before she guarded them again.

"None of your business freak!" Rosepaw hissed. She stood up and stalked away as Shadowpaw sat down next to her.

"What did you say to her? She looks pretty mad" the black tom purred, her eyes narrowing into laughing slits.

"I didn't say anything! I just saw a scratch on her and asked what happened and she snapped at me!" Mallowpaw defended herself.

Shadowpaw heaved a sigh and rolled on his back, "So you've noticed too? She's been getting them for the past half moon. And Lionpaw too, he's been getting larger scars. Like the nick in his ear. That one he got a week ago. Said a big thorn was in his nest, even pulled it out of his nest. What a bunch of crap" the black tom hissed angrily.

"Crap? What's that?" Mallowpaw asked, getting off topic.

Shadowpaw began to chuckle and looked to her. "It's kind of like when you say fox-dung. But I learned the word crap from my mentor Rainbow." he explained to her.

Mallowpaw nodded, understanding the term. "So this Rainbow cat... What did she teach you?" she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

Shadowpaw began to laugh loudly, attracting the attention of cats around them.

Mallowpaw pressed her ears against her head and glared at him. "Well what are you laughing about? I just asked a simple question!" she spat, feeling embarrassed.

Shadowpaw quit laughing and smiled at her, "Rainbow wasn't a cat. She was a bird, a parrot to be more specific." Shadowpaw explained.

"What in StarClan's name is a parrot? I've never heard of it before" Mallowpaw asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

Shadowpaw closed his eyes, trying to remember what his mentor looked like.

Mallowpaw took the chance to really study the black tom. He had broad shoulders and and silky smooth pure black fur. The muscles along his back rippled as his wings unfolded slightly. When he opened his eyes she looked away quickly, staring at the fresh-kill pile.

"Let's see she had a red body and her wings and tail feathers were the color of the rainbow. She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I miss her a lot. When I was brought in by the two-legs Rainbow noticed I had wings and immediately began to teach me how to use them" Shadowpaw explained, a look of longing in his eyes.

"She was the first to accept me for what I am" he continued softly, purring sadly.

Mallowpaw looked at Shadowpaw in shock, her tail flicking from side to side. "I accept you Shadowpaw" she whispered, licking around his ears before standing up. She left him in shock as she trotted over to the fresh-kill pile, only to be tripped up by Rosepaw again.

"You better stay away from my Shadowpaw! He's gonna be my mate! That's what StarClan has told me!" the white she-cat growled threateningly.

Mallowpaw stared at her and took a deep breath, deciding to take a jab at her friend. "Why would StarClan scratch you up? I thought StarClan was supposed to be our ancestors! Why would they hurt you?" she whined, looking straight into Rosepaw's eyes.

Rosepaw fidgeted uncomfortably and tried to hide her fresh scratch. "T-They told me that if I trained and toughened up that Shadowpaw would like me! And you know he might ask me to train with him instead of a freak like you!" Rosepaw sneered the last part.

Mallowpaw was about to retort back when a white tail whisked in front of her.

"If you two would stop fighting for one moment, Mallowpaw it's your turn to collect the bedding for the elders and search their fur for fleas and ticks. And Rosepaw Spottedwing is waiting for you at the front entrance for battle training." Snowflower snapped, glaring at them.

Mallowpaw gaped at her mentor, but realized she was mostly disappointed in her own daughter. She began grumbling and padded towards the entrance behind Rosepaw.

Suddenly Mallowpaw perked up, maybe if she was fast about the bedding and good with cleaning off their ticks and fleas she might get a story! The blue-grey she-cat began to purr loudly until she bumped into a warm body. Cursing her bad luck she met the eyes of her mother, "Blueleaf! How are you doing?" She asked politely.

Blueleaf purred and touched her nose to Mallowpaw's. "No need to be formal dear. I am still your mother" Blueleaf mewed softly, nuzzling her.

Mallowpaw purred weakly and took a step back, no longer used to her mother's affection. "S-Sorry Blueleaf, I really just don't see much of you or Rainstrike." Mallowpaw admitted, flitting her eyes away from Blueleaf.

The bigger blue-grey she-cat frowned and raised her paw, pushing Mallowpaw's face towards her. "Look me in the eyes when we talk Mallowpaw" her mother growled, lashing her tail.

Mallowpaw backed away, not looking at her mother. She heard her mother's paw begin to move toward her and let her instincts kick in.

Mallowpaw scrambled back, hitting a body behind her.

"Blueleaf Flamedapple is complaining about the pain again" A voice growled.

"Thank you _Shadow_" Blueleaf spat disdainfully, stomping off towards the elders den.

Mallowpaw sat down in a daze, why was her mother being so... _rude? _It wasn't like her... She was a medicine cat after all. Her mind drifted to the day she had asked Blueleaf what it meant to be from the clans.

* * *

"_Hey mom what does it mean to be of the clans?" her small voice squeaked. _

_Blueleaf purred softly as she watched Pebblekit and Moonkit tussle with Talonkit and Lionkit. "Well to be of the clans... It means that we are much kinder than rogues and more sociable than loners. ThunderClan is one of the most kindest clans I know! Especially once I'm a medicine cat again!" her mother exclaimed. _

_Mallowkit tilted her head in confusion. From what the elders had told her, medicine cats weren't allowed to have kits. "Mommy why did you have kits?" She asked, turning her purple eyes to her mother. _

"_Well... You see love has no boundaries, even the medicine cat code or the warrior code cannot hold back the power of love" Blueleaf explained, licking the top of her head roughly._

* * *

Mallowpaw looked up to Shadowpaw and nodded her thanks to him. She noticed her looked utterly exhausted and he black fur was slick with sweat.

"What have you been doing since we last talked? And you brought back moss?" Mallowpaw asked, her head tilting a bit lazily.

"Well Greycloud had me battle training for tomorrow..." Shadowpaw trailed off, his yellow eyes growing distant. The black tom looked back at her and smiled. "And I brought the moss because you're on elder duty and I thought I would help" he purred.

Mallowpaw nodded in agreement and took some of the moss in her jaws and began to pad towards the elders den, with Shadowpaw on her heels. As she entered the den she saw her mother spitting at Flamedapple and throwing the herbs he needed in his face.

"If you're so skilled then do it yourself!" her mother spat, shoving her way past the apprentices.

Flamedapple looked crestfallen and just stared at the herbs.

"Flamedapple? What happened?" Shadowpaw asked, his yellow eyes holding concern.

Mallowpaw dropped the moss and padded over to the herbs, giving them a sniff. "So you need help applying them?" She asked kindly.

Flamedapple looked at her eyes and widened his eyes.

Mallowpaw began to look away when the tom began to smile, his amber eyes gaining their regular shine.

"You are destined for great things young mallow. Stick close to the shadow for they will protect you" the tom whispered, nudging the herbs toward her. "Would you be so kind as to apply these herbs to my lower spine? It's killing me!" He began with a fake elderly voice.

Brackenfoot looked at Mallowpaw with wide eyes, as if her couldn't believe what had happened. The elderly tom stood up slowly and touched his nose to the tom of her head, purring gently. "Thank you youngster. He hasn't been the same since his legs had stopped working... How about I tell you a story of two beautiful lovers? Their names were Spottedpelt and Ashflower." the old tom rasped, hobbling over to his newly clean nest.

Mallowpaw widened her eyes and began to search for a spot to apply the herbs. She had heard those names before... But where?

Mallowpaw shook her head and began to poke and prod at Flamedapple's lower spine, searching for a place start. Finally spreading Flamedapple's fur she gasped in shock. There was a scar near his spine. Almost as if someone had bit him, making his back legs useless.

What in the name of StarClan was going on with ThunderClan?

Mallowpaw no longer felt safe in the clan she called home.

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**Alrighty! What do you think is wrong with Lionpaw and Rosepaw? I mean it's fairly obvious, but whatever we'll find out in the next chapter. **

**What to expect from the next chapter:**

**-Lionpaw's POV**

**-The night before the battle**

**-THE ACTUAL BATTLE (I SWEAR TO STARCLAN I'M DOING THE BATTLE IN THE NEXT CHAPTER)**

**-Maybe a death? Probably not, but there is gonna be an important death later on in the story.**

**Okie Dokie guys leave a review on what you think might happen and it might just be put in the next chapter! Snowflower out!**


	9. Chapter 7: Lion

**BACK FROM THE DEAD! Sorry guys I've been in a real rut lately and moved from South Carolina to El Paso in the last month and I'm having trouble adjusting and coping. If you wanna pry further feel free to PM me! Only if you want to! Enjoy this super long chapter!**

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Lionpaw stretched as he watched the sun start to sink from the sky.

Goosewing had requested that he be relieved of his mentors duties seeing as they were father and son.

Leafstar had refused because there was no one else left to mentor him. Movement caught his eyes as Brackenflame pushed through the barrier, behind him Vixenpaw enters, a smile on her face as she follows her father to the fresh-kill pile. His mother had been given Vixenpaw as a mentor and she had given the russet she-cat the day off after helping Blueleaf collect herbs. Something within him made the way he looked at her differently, maybe it was the way she had fit so perfectly when they slept together, or the way she was there after Goosewing and him got into it. He sighed as he watched her bond with her father.

Lionpaw felt a rough nudge and was met by the cold dark blue eyes of Rosepaw.

"Remember our mentors wanted us in bed early tonight" the white she cat growled softly.

Lionpaw looked at her confused for a moment and then understood. He would always forget that this little petite apprentice was training with him in his sleep. He followed her into the den, gaping his jaws in a fake yawn. He watched his den-mate as her muscles rippled beneath her clean fur.

Lionpaw didn't like that she trained with Dark Forest. Yes he knew who they were, but Rosepaw didn't know. The only reason she was even there was because of her jealousy of Mallowpaw, even reverted into calling Mallowpaw a freak.

Lionpaw really hadn't cared about it, but Vixenpaw had called Rosepaw out on it one time and let's just say it resulted in both of them cleaning the elders den for a moon.

The golden tom laid down, leaving some room for Vixenpaw if she decided to sleep with him tonight. On some nights she would sleep near Mallowpaw, watching like a hawk for her bullies to strike. And on days nothing happened to Mallowpaw she would sleep next to him.

Lionpaw then willed himself to sleep. Maybe if he got to sleep earlier training would end earlier. When he opened his blue eyes he noticed a beautiful silvery she-cat sitting in front of him. "Good evening Lion_paw_" The she-cat sneered.

Lionpaw rolled his eyes and stood up glaring at his dream mentor. "Willowflower please, I'm still an apprentice back in ThunderClan what's the point of emphasizing the 'paw in my name?" he asked, spotting Rosepaw trotting happily alongside Leopardclaw.

Leopardclaw's fur was long, like a RiverClan cat's fur should be. It was tawny with black spots. But the most noticeable thing about him though was his small teeth. Some trait that skipped a generation or something like that. Either way his father disowned him, and his mother left the clan to become a kittypet.

The young tom was constantly teased and tortured, by both den-mates and his own father. The clan ignored the skills he held within his long claws and said he'd never amount to anything. He did have a mate that accepted who he was. Her name was Tigerpath and even though Lionpaw didn't have the slightest clue about her he knew she was in RiverClan.

Leopardclaw once mentioned that she was very full of herself and that she was very attractive. When the tawny tom had showed them an image of her Lionpaw nodded his head in understanding. She had tiger like fur with bright amber eyes. Both her claws and teeth were rather short, but her beauty glided her through life.

Lionpaw winced as Willowflower cuffed him over the head with her claws unsheathed. "Stop staring after your mate numb-skull. We need to have you ready for tomorrow!" the RiverClan cat mewed excitedly.

"You might get your first kill tomorrow! Also that Vixenpaw might die. She's been a real pain to us. She keeps you up all night so we don't have time to train you!" Willowflower complained padding forward towards their training hollow.

Lionpaw growled softly following his Dark Forest mentor. Sure Goosewing taught him well, but he needed more training other than his father.

After their fight Willowflower offered to teach him things that Goosewing couldn't. At the time Lionpaw saw how pretty she looked and how a cat like her had to be from StarClan. He shook his head as Willowflower stood in front of him, glaring daggers.

"Okay since you're fighting ShadowClan just now they are dirty rotten cheaters. They use the shadows to their advantage so you have to keep your senses on high alert. Always have your mouth open, and go for the weakest looking one. You want to dwindle their numbers. And if you see the leader _kill _him." Willowflower instructed.

Lionpaw looked at her with shock, "That's actually pretty helpful Willowflower. Why the change?" He snickered, well aware of a tom scent behind him. He studied her body and noticed her tail twitch slightly.

Lionpaw closed his eyes and felt the ground beneath him shake slightly, with the weight of the tom. Once he felt the hot breath on his tail he jumped up high, causing the ambushing tom to crash into Willowflower.

The she-cat shrieked in surprise and clawed at the tom as he struggled to untangle from her. "Lizardstreak how could you miss? He was right there! I set you up to take down an easy target and you failed!" Willowflower spat in disdain.

Something inside Lionpaw snapped and he snarled, stalking towards the duo. The golden tom yanked the light brown tom off of his mentor and spun him around to face him.

The tom had a darker brown streak on his face with it branching out once it reached his back. By then the streak was outlined with white. He really did look like a lizard.

Lionpaw unsheathed his claws and hit the confused tom, pinning him down easily. He sneered at him remembering what the elders had told him about Lizardstreak.

Formerly hailing from WindClan this tom sneaked around the forests of ThunderClan and ShadowClan stealing death berries. Of course ThunderClan could've cared less since they didn't use them as ShadowClan did. But the story was that he would feed them to kits he thought were weak. He was caught when the leader found him trying to feed his son the death berries he stole. Furious the WindClan leader killed him right then and there declaring that Lizardstreak was the cause of all the mysterious deaths in WindClan.

The tom looked up at him hatefully and sneered at him "I would've killed you the moment I laid eyes on you, you pathetic ThunderClan scum. Rosepaw has more potential than you." The light brown tom spat venomously.

Lionpaw chuckled darkly and dove his head, biting savagely into the toms neck, killing him instantly. The body blurred and disappeared, leaving nothing but a neat puddle of blood. "Now can we get to the serious training?" He snarled, his temper spiking more and more as the night training continued.

Lionpaw awoke with a jolt, quickly looking to Rosepaw as she fidgeted in her sleep. He was about to stand to help her out, but felt fur against his chest. He craned his neck and spotted Vixenpaw pressed against his chest with his paw wrapped around her. His blue gaze softened considerably as he looked away.

Lionpaw noticed that Shadowpaw and Mallowpaw were closer to each other also. One of his wings thrown over her as if to protect her from whatever chilly breeze there might be.

Lionpaw sighed in disappointment as he pictured his mother's scathing tone. He didn't understand why Wildfur wanted him to be mates with the freak. He didn't want his future kin to be stuck with purple eyes.

Willowflower had taught him to especially hate Patchpaw, Ashpaw, and Stormpaw. For some reason she wanted him to hate Greycloud also, but he couldn't hate them. As much as he tried he liked the younger apprentices.

Ashpaw was just a fierce as Greycloud, and Patchpaw was a logical thinker which made him a great asset as a partner.

Stormpaw was a mixture of Greycloud and Redfeather. Both fierce and logical. A natural born leader. Of course the young tom had no idea how talented he actually was.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the High rock for a clan meeting" Leafstar's voice called out, clear and strong.

Lionpaw untangled himself and gently nudged Vixenpaw. "Leafstar called for a meeting" he murmured softly. Vixenpaw groaned loudly and kicked out randomly, catching Rosepaw in the jaw.

Rosepaw sat up quickly, her claws unsheathed and ready to claw the culprit. The she-cat seemed more on edge lately and everyone was starting tot ake a notice to her.

Lionpaw rolled his eyes and nudged the white she-cat roughly as he padded outside, not waiting for anyone. He began to clean himself as the clan began to assemble beneath their leader.

"We attack ShadowClan today!" the elderly she-cat yowled. Somehow both Brackenflame and Snowflower convinced their leader to stay out of the battle. The cats that had gathered around him yowled in agreement.

Lionpaw looked around for Greycloud and found her edging towards the entrance, excited to get her mate back. He felt a nudge and looked down to find Vixenpaw next to him.

"You stay safe okay? You've only been training for two moons." niaivietyixenpaw purred at him, worrying shining clearly in her icy blue eyes.

Lionpaw touched his nose to hers and purred softly as she flattened her ears in embarrassment. "Brackenflame will lead the attack. With his patrol will be Stormheart, Sunstreak, Spottedwing, Wildfur, Shadowpaw, and Mallowpaw. In the second patrol Snowflower will be leading it. With her will be Greycloud, Cinderflame, Flametalon, Gingerfoot, Lionpaw, and Talonpaw!" Leafstar yowled, ending the meeting with a flick of her tail.

The warriors going split up and began to plan their battle tactics.

Lionpaw sighed with relief that Vixenpaw wasn't going.

"Aw you're so lucky!" Vixenpaw meowed loudly, brushing her pelts with him.

The golden tom looked to the younger apprentice and smiled. Maybe he liked Vixenpaw more than he intended, though he would never admit it for her own safety. "Well hopefully I'll see you later Vixenpaw" He whispered in her ear as his group began to assemble.

Lionpaw watched as Brackenflame's group began to leave and he padded quickly to Mallowpaw and Shadowpaw. He sat down and cleared his throat. Both of their eyes landed on him and he almost flinched at the intensity in their eyes.

Mallowpaw's purple eyes softened as she realized who it was while Shadowpaw's yellow eyes stayed guarded.

"I... I just wanted to wish you guys luck. And... And that you guys come home safely..." Lionpaw muttered. As much as Lionpaw hated to admit it Shadowpaw had grown on him, since they weren't in competition for Mallowpaw anymore.

Lionpaw felt a tail on his shoulders and he looked up to see the golden tabby fur of his mother as Mallowpaw and Shadowpaw walked away.

"Saying goodbye to your lover darling? Oh you guys will have the cutest little kits." Wildfur cooed, staring lovingly after Mallowpaw.

"No mom, I was saying goodbye to my _friends_" Lionpaw growled, shrugging his mother's tail off of his shoulders. He padded over to his brother who was holding back fits of laughter.

"_Saying goodbye to your lover darling? Oh you guys will have the cutest little kits." _Talonpaw mimicked their mother, but his voice wasn't high enough for her pitch so he sounded like a dying cat.

"Stay out of my fur Talonpaw. I don't need you badgering me either!" Lionpaw hissed, ending up sitting between Flametalon and Cinderflame as they chattered like birds. It was obvious the two were going to be mates soon considering their closeness. They had grown up with each other and having Leafstar as their mother, which confused everyone because Flametalon was not Leafstar's biological son.

Flametalon hailed from ShadowClan and moved to ThunderClan when Toadstar's reign had ended. At least that's what Snowflower's story had said.

The leader was now Fallenstar, probably the most battle hungry leader as he always started to fight Icestar, the leader of WindClan.

Lionpaw dipped his head in farewell to Vixenpaw and began to pad alongside his brother. The golden tom stayed silent until they reached a stopping point. "Hey why are we stopped?" He called out, irritated that they weren't closer to the first group.

"To be honest Lionpaw I'm hoping we won't even fight. The first group is filled with more experienced warriors while my group has younger warriors who have more stamina than the older warriors." Snowflower explained, watching the first group intently as they crossed the thunderpath and sat at the border, waiting for a patrol.

Lionpaw stiffened as he heard a loud yowl. A patrol of ShadowClanners came crushing towards the first group and unsheathed their claws. The leader of the patrol, a large cream tom with a darker brown streak that seemed to fall off his back, came nose to nose with Brackenflame.

Lionpaw saw Snowflower stiffen and began to growl softly. He creeped closer to Snowflower and nudged her gently, "Who is that tom?" he asked, examining the burly tom.

"That piece of crow-food is Fallenstar. He's the leader of ShadowClan." Snowflower hissed, her fur standing on end.

"Snowflower..." Flametalon's voice whispered from behind him.

Lionpaw looked to Flametalon and noticed his leaf green eyes were fixiated on a single cat. He turned to look and noticed a beautiful white she-cat with silver, golden, and light brown tabby patches with dark sky-blue eyes.

"Flametalon is that Blossomfire?" Cinderflame asked, her voice full of sympathy.

"Y-Yeah, she's the one..." Flametalon murmured.

Their conversation became hushed and suddenly it clicked. It was his mother! Though he didn't really resemble her much, he must take from his father.

Lionpaw shook his head as Brackenflame launched himself onto Fallenstar. He leapt up to go protect his clanmates when someone grabbed him by the scuff.

"Not yet!" Snowflower hissed through his fur. "Wait for the signal!"

Lionpaw growled in frustration and noticed a black blur shoot through the sky and dive onto an unsuspecting cat.

The dark ginger she-cat let out a sqeual of surprise as Shadowpaw attacked her again, giving out a call of warning that sounded somewhat like a bird.

Lionpaw lowered himself to the ground, watching Snowflower carefully as she poised her tail for a signal. There was a loud caterwaul from the other side and Snowflower gave the signal. He felt his fur fluff up with anticipation as he locked his gaze on Fallenstar. Willowflower trained him all night long for this and he wasn't going to let her down.

Snowflower let out a battle cry and leapt onto the nearest warrior.

Lionpaw leapt and felt something grab him in the air.

"You aren't the only one that's been training in secret!" a deep voice hissed.

Lionpaw looked up and spotted Shadowpaw carrying him through the air. He was amazed at the height he was gaining and noticed a pair of pale green eyes watching from the shadows with interest. "Hey let me down furball!" He hissed, watching the pale green eyes with intensity. Who's were they? Nobody had pale green eyes in ThunderClan so surely it was a ShadowClan cat.

"Where to boss?" the winged cat asked, started to dive down. Lionpaw was baffled at the word _boss_, but shook his head and pointing to Fallenstar with his tail. "Aim for the leader and then go help Mallowpaw!" he ordered.

The wind rushed through his golden fur and he liked it! The rush of flying was unreal and he finally understood how Shadowpaw felt.

"Get ready, I'm gonna let go of you!" Shadowpaw warned, letting go of Lionpaw.

Lionpaw wanted to screech but kept his jaw shut as he was thrown at Fallenstar. Landing on the cream colored tom he quickly bit into his neck, taking a life.

"Stop!" a voice cried out loudly. Soon the battle came to a halt as multiple cats were bleeding heavily. "What do you want?" the dark ginger she-cat from before asked, her icy blue eyes shining with worry.

"Rowanfrost you have no such order to do that!" a black tom with grey splotches growled at her.

"Yes I do Darkstorm! His mate has the right to stop the battle!" she snarled, her ice blue eyes shining with hostility.

There was a disapproving scoff from the crowd and Lionpaw looked around for it. He noticed disaprroval in Snowflower's eyes as she held down a light dark brown tom.

"So what is it? You want more territory?" Rowanfrost asked again.

Lionpaw continued to look around to make sure his clanmates were okay.

Flametalon held down a shocked Blossomfire. Next to them was an unconcious Cinderflame. Everyone else seemed fairly okay, some had deep scratches, others seems to be limping, but otherwise fine.

"Give us back Redfeather! NOW!" Lionpaw demanded, digging his claws into the leaders throat, not killing him, but making it painful.

"Do it... Blackpaw, go get that stupid tom!" Fallenstar croaked.

Lionpaw looked up and spotting the black tom with pale green eyes nodding to his leader and going off, deeper into the territory. It took a while for the black apprentice to come back with Redfeather.

Lionpaw let out a sigh of relief getting off the ShadowClan leader. There was a squeal of joy and Greycloud came out of the group of cats, tackling her mate to the ground.

"Oh I've missed you so much!" Greycloud murmued, her voice very loving.

"I've missed you too." Redfeather soothed her.

Lionpaw purred softly, hoping he could have a loving mate one day. The image of Vixenpaw popped into his head, but shook his head. She was a friend, a very good one at that.

Someone tapped his shoulder and he turned to see Snowflower with an approving look in her ice blue eyes.

"You did very well today Lionpaw, Leafstar will definitely hear of your fighting today!" the snowy white warrior praised him.

Lionpaw puffed out his chest and watched ShadowClan retreat.

"ThunderClan let's go! We have what we came for and tonight we feast!" Snowflower crowed, commanding the attention of the raid party.

Lionpaw noticed the a ShadowClanner had stayed behind and he began to eavesdrop on them.

"Flamepaw, please come home! ShadowClan is your home!" Blossomfire begged, pressing herself to her son.

"Mother... No Blossomfire, you lost the right to be called mother! You abandoned me when I was only four moons old! You told Toadstar that it was alright to apprentice me just so that you could fight with Windclan! YOU WERE MY MOTHER FOR STARCLAN'S SAKE!" Flametalon screeched at the white she-cat.

Blossomfire shrank back at her sons reprimand and looked hurt. "I-I just wanted to avenge your father! I was blinded my grief to see that my son had needed me... Please come back home!" Blossomfire cried.

There was a groan and Flametalon ignored his mother as Cinderflame came to. "Mother I can't return because I wasn't wanted there. I have a loving mate in ThunderClan and I was mentored at six moons like I was supposed to... So no I won't be coming back to ShadowClan. Not now, not ever!" He spat helping Cinderflame to her feet.

The dark grey she-cat glared at Blossomfire as she limped away with Flametalon.

Lionpaw looked away and began to pad back with the two groups to tell good news to ThunderClan Redfeather had finally returned.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll try and write the rest of the chapters like this. **

**What to expect in the next chapter:**

**\- Shadowpaw's POV**

**\- The aftermath of the battle**

**\- Probably a time skip. Probably when Lionpaw becomes a warrior**

**Until next time!**

**-Snowflower**


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